Thousands of households in Sofia continue to be without heating and hot water because of breakdowns and repairs to the network of “Toplofikatsiya Sofia”. In some parts of the capital, heating is expected to be restored in the coming days, but for dozens of apartment blocks the deadlines are November 13 or 15, while in “Druzhba 2” they extend until the end of the month.
According to data from “Toplofikatsiya Sofia”, the problems in entire neighborhoods such as “Iztok” and “Izgrev”, as well as in parts of “Studentski grad”, “Druzhba 1”, “Lozenets” and “Musagenitsa”, are expected to be resolved by November 6. Other addresses in “Druzhba 1” and Block 290 in the “Tsarigradski kompleks” area of “Druzhba 2” have been given a November 7 deadline.
Some repairs have been ongoing since September
Apartment blocks in “Mladost 1”, “Mladost 1A”, “Mladost 3”, “Dianabad” and “Druzhba 1” will remain affected until November 13. Addresses in “Dianabad”, “Lozenets”, “Mladost 1”, “Druzhba 1”, “Slatina”, “Geo Milev”, “Musagenitsa”, “Oborishte”, “Poligona” and “Yavorov” have been given a November 15 deadline.
The longest deadline applies to 27 apartment blocks in “Druzhba 2” – from Block 423 and Block 501 to Block 528. They have been without heating since August 28 because of repairs, with restoration expected by the end of November. Some of the affected buildings in “Mladost” and “Dianabad” have been without the service since mid-September.
Radio Sofia reported that a total of 286 customer substations operated by the company are not working because of breakdowns, while more than 400 emergency situations are being monitored without heating having been interrupted. The data were presented by Energy Minister Iva Petrova at a meeting of the parliamentary Energy Committee on November 4. According to her, five or six repair teams have been organized to resolve the problems.
CPC calls for compensation
The crisis has also prompted institutional reactions. The Commission for Consumer Protection announced that it would file two class-action lawsuits against “Toplofikatsiya Sofia” if the company does not compensate the affected consumers. The CPC has received complaints from residents of “Hristo Botev”, “Druzhba”, “Slatina”, “Dianabad”, “Musagenitsa”, “Mladost” and “Darvenitsa”, with the lack of hot water continuing for more than 60 days in some cases.
The commission insists that penalties for undelivered heat energy be included in the November bills. Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva has also called for an urgent hearing of the responsible institutions and the company's management because of the prolonged interruptions.
Next week, the management of “Toplofikatsiya Sofia” is expected to be heard by the Sofia Municipal Council. Municipal councilors should request information about the delayed repairs, the funds spent and the measures being taken to limit breakdowns.
Sources: blitz.bg, bnrnews.bg, vesti.bg